Hela, the Spirit Queen
Hela is the former goddess of death. She judged souls before they entered the afterlife, and guarded the Gates of the Dead, stopping souls from escaping, and turning back those not ready for the afterlife. After her betrayal her worshippers divided into two main factions:
The faction of the Spirits and Redemption: When Hela freed all the souls from the Abyss, it brought calamity to the world in the shape of a plague of undead. A few of the old ways worshippers interpreted Hela's action as one of redemption. Even though the price had been high by creating thousands of undead, she had freed thousands if not millions of times that many souls. They called themselves The Cult of the Old ways.
The faction of the Undead and Doom: (See Hela - The New Way)
Although thought by many as an evil goddess, Hela is not popular with the other dark powers. The souls in the Abyss belonged to Niht, Vali, and the demon lords, and Hela’s act as much betrayed them as it did the good gods, for it robbed them of many followers.
Hela’s public shrines in civilized lands have been supplanted by those of Scaetha. Shrines within the Withered Lands are dedicated to her new aspects, bedecked in the skulls of sacrificial victims, and stained with the blood of countless innocents. Temples to Hela may exist, but few sane folks have entered the Withered Lands in the last few decades, and even fewer have returned. Worshipping Hela grants no safe passage in the lands of the undead unless one has the power to defend oneself.
Hela’s priests are concerned with ensuring that the souls of the dead transition to the afterlife and protecting the ones that remain in this world (so they can transition). Exorcising the living is a core part of their daily routine. Paladins serve as guardians of the spirit world. They punish anyone that entraps and enslaves spirits, as well anyone that upsets them: grave robbers, spirit binders, spirit summoners, etc. Undead are considered friendly and to be treated with respect, but often forced to be confronted with in order to free their soul/spirit. Friendly undead are considered normal sentient beings with the same rights.
Divine Domains
Spirits, Mercy, Death, Undead, Redemption
Holy Books & Codes
- Priesthood: Spirit Lords or Ladies (priests Spirit Knights (paladins).
- Herald: A skeleton in a black cloak.
- Signature Power: TBD. Priests and Paladin don’t turn undead. Instead, they pacify spirits. At higher levels, they may exorcise spirits possessing an undead or living creature.
- Trappings: Spells must have a necromantic or darkness trapping whenever possible.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
A clenched, white mummified fist
Tenets of Faith
Sins:
- (Minor) refuse giving burial rites to any creature, refusing to free a trapped soul, refusing to aid or working against a self-aware spirit (Usually belonging to any race that does burial rites
- (Major) willfully slaying a minor self-aware spirit, failing to stop a Hela the Undead worshiper from achieving his/her/its goals; Create a minor undead
- (Mortal) willfully slaying mayor self-aware spirit. Create a major undead.
Holidays
Holy Day: First and last day of Deorcmonan each month. (Same as evil, it is considered a day of truce)
Festivals involve freeing and cleansing a large number of trapped souls and spirits. Worshippers wear skull masks during these celebrations, mimicking the forms they hope to achieve once Hela creates her realm of undeath.
Titles
The Spirit Queen, The Spirit Warrior, Supreme Conduit, Lady of Decay, the Unholy Witch, the Mummified Lady, Soulgiver, the Soul Collector, Opener of the Gates.
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